Blog

Delphi in Greece, the holiest place in the world, the navel of the world, today Heritage of humanity by unesco. That was Delphi for the ancient Greeks. A place of pilgrimage where the mysterious Oracle of Delphi interpreted by the Pythias, priestesses, revealed future events and advised the great Greek cities, polis, on their affairs of state.

If we have talked about Olimpia as one of the most fascinating cities you can visit within the 13 Best Monuments in GreeceIt is clear that we cannot leave behind Delphi, in Greece.

And is that Delphi, in Greece, has become a place of worship, full of myths related to the oracle most revered and respected by Greek religion.

It is said that because of him and his answers, it was decided whether or not to go to war or create a new city. For this reason, little by little, his wisdom ritual became a myth and from there, a city made legend.

Currently, you will not find anyone to tell you what you needed to hear, but it is impressive to see the ancient remains in the context that surrounds the Pythia, surrounded by beauty and incredible sunsets.

What to see in Delphi

Oddly enough, Delphi is a fairly lively city, with a historic center full of bars and restaurants next to trails for walking and unwinding on foot from Mount Parnassus. Curious the mixture right?

On the other hand, for the most historians and lovers of myths, we recommend you visit the archaeological site of ancient Delphi, a magical and timeless place that still maintains its charm and mystery.

You will travel a wide path through various locations that will take you to the ancient ruins. In them, you will find one of the monuments of greece Most visited: the Sanctuary of Apollo, considered the home of the oracle, dating from the XNUMXth century BC, although as we explain below, these ruins house much more and at different points of visit.

A powerful and magical site full of statues, streets and columns, which also includes a theater and the best preserved stadium in all of Greece. In fact, one of the important facts that you should know is that, from the top step of the theater, you can enjoy an incredible view of the entire city.

Although also, a must for lovers of the history of Delphi, in Greece, be the Sikelianos House Museum, dedicated to the Greek poet Angelos Sikelianos and his wife Eva Palmer.

How to get to Delphi

If you think that Delphi is a hidden city, you are far from reality. Getting there is very easy, especially by motorhome or by car, as it is about 170 km from Athens via the E75 highway.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to access it from the train because the cities are not connected, but if you prefer to go by bus, the journey time will not be more than 3 hours and you will find many routes during the day.

Our experience in Delphi

Arriving at Delphi we immediately realized that it would be very complicated parking. It was noted that it is one of the major tourist attractions in Greece. There are no large car parks, you can only park on the sides of the road marked as car parks, and there are not too many. In addition, it is totally forbidden to spend the night in a motorhome or camper in all of Delphi for those of us who travel by motorhome.

Overnight at a campsite in Delphi

So, we set out to go straight to the closest campsite there was. A camping success. One of the best campsites we stayed at in Greece. The camping is called Apollo, or Apollo, as they write. If you don't have a motorhome or camper or caravan, this campsite is perfect because it also has bungalows of various types and with great views.

At the campsite, the first thing that surprised us and left us open-mouthed was their stunning views of the Peloponnese and Galaxidi. It is impressive to see the sea from the foothills of the second highest mountain in Greece, the Mount Parnassus, Where is Delphi located?

The camping pool, its children's area, together with its giant chess and its tavern where we dined with the best sunset of our entire trip, undoubtedly made this place our best overnight site in Greece. We definitely recommend it.

From the campsite to the ruins there are about 20 minutes on foot, of which there are a few bad minutes on the road with a curve xungui, or you can take a taxi that calls you at the campsite reception itself.

We chose to enjoy the campsite and rest the day we arrived and the next day get up early to park under the deposits before 9 o'clock which is from when everything is filled with cars.

How to visit Delphi

Arriving at 9 am we found good parking without any problem and from there we started the visits all on foot.

delphi has 3 visiting areas, we tell you in our blog all about them and How to visit Delphi in Greece.

We did the visits just as they did ancient pilgrims who came to this sacred place that was Delphi.

The temple of Athena, the gymnasium and the fountain of Kastalia

We start with the lower part, the temple of Athena, the typical photo of Delphi. Access here is free and open, but there is not much more than what you see in the photo. This was the gateway for pilgrims.

From here we go up the road and see the old gym to the left and then to the right kastalia fountain. Place where pilgrims bathed before going up to the temple of Apollo.

The main archaeological zone

We continue along the road to the right and we already see the ticket offices to access the main area of ​​archaeological sites. We pay the entrance, free for people over 18 years old, and with it we access.

In the main archaeological zone we will follow the marked path that goes up the side of the mountain. We first go through the Via Sacra, where the mini temples were located that the polis, ancient Greek city-states raised as offerings and a symbol of power.

After these small temples we already see the great altar of the temple of apollo and the entrance to the same temple. Here offerings were made that had to be bought in the same temple and served to access the Oracle of Delphi through the Pythia that entered a trance answering the questions that were asked. It is said that they surely entered a trance due to narcotic substances or natural gas that emanated from a crack between some stones on one side of the temple.

Finally, we just climbed the slope and found the Delphi theater and stadium, where the Pythian games were held, the second most important games in ancient Greece after Olympia.

At this point, we go back down the way we came up until we reach the bottom again and leave the archaeological site.

The Archaeological Museum of Delphi

Now, with the same input, we can go to the archeological Museum, 2 minutes to the right as we exit. This will be the 3rd area to visit in Delphi. One of the best museums we have seen in Greece with beautiful sculptures and very well preserved objects from ancient Greece.

Undoubtedly, if we had to repeat the visit to an archaeological site in Greece, we would choose Delphi. It is one of the best preserved places and the most beautiful of all the places we have visited this month in Greece.